Five Times UNIT tried to employ Ianto Jones
by White-Tigers-of-Darkness
Summary: Full title is: Five Times UNIT tried to employ Ianto Jones and one time they Succeeded . Throughout Ianto's career, UNIT has made six attempts to employ him. Five of the failed. One didn't.
1. The First Attempt

Well, I've been recently reading all those 'Five thing' stories and decided to give it a go. Basically I was planning to do a 'Five times UNIT tried to steal a Member of Torchwood (and one time they Succeeded)' but I couldn't work out any realistic way that UNIT would ever want Gwen (Yeah, I don't like Gwen. If you don't believe me, look on my profile). So instead I decided to focus on just one character. Naturally, because Ianto was my favorite character 'AND' we still don't know his back story, I thought it would work. Anyway, this will (Hopefully) be broken down into six chapters (If I ever get that far). Anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood. I thought I made that clear in my other stories. I just borrow the characters from the BBC (Well, except for the OC but I'm sure you could figure that out).

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**Five Times UNIT tried to employ Ianto Jones (and one time they Succeeded)  
**

The first time Ianto ever heard about UNIT, he was 14 and facing suspension from school. It hadn't really been his fault. A simple trip to the nuclear power station had ended in disaster when he had accepted a dare from his best mate David, to find the entry codes for the restricted areas of the plant. Ianto had always been gifted in maths and only 20 minutes after disappearing from the group, he and David were walking along the corridors next to some of the most advanced machinery in Cardiff. Unfortunately, 10 minutes later they were spotted by one of the workers and the police were called.

Ianto sat on the hard seat of the principles waiting room. Behind the door, his mother was being given a over-dramatised account of the events. Ianto sighed and jumped up from the chair. The door to the hall was slightly open so he peeked outside. The two officers who had 'escorted' Ianto and David from the power plant, were standing with their backs to the door, talking to a well dressed man in a sharp business suit. Next to the man stood a man dressed in black with combat boots and a red beret. The suited man nodded as one of the officers pointed a thumb towards the slightly open door. Ianto pulled back from the door and ran to his seat. The door swung open and the suited man walked in. He smiled as he approached. Ianto wriggled in his chair. He was in enough trouble as it was and that smile wasn't as nice looking as it sounded.

"Good evening Mr Jones" The man said, sitting down in the next chair.

Ianto turned his face away, watching the man out of the corner of his eye. He kept silent. The man reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small square of cardboard. He held it out the Ianto. Ianto finally turned to look at him, ignoring the card. The man grinned.

"My name is Sylvester Newman. I work for the United Nation." he said, offering Ianto his free hand.

Ianto looked him up and down.

"Am I in trouble, Sir?" He finally asked in a small voice.

The man, Sylvester Newman, let out a deep laugh. Ianto cringed.

"No, Not with me." he said, still smiling. "But I don't believe the school, the police or even your parents are happy about your little stunt." He grinned at Ianto.

Ianto looked down at his worn jeans, absentmindedly playing with a small hole in the fabric. Sylvester Newman lent back against his chair.

"Mr Jones…do you mind if I call you Ianto?" he asked.

Ianto shot him a quick, confused look.

"It's on your file" Sylvester shrugged.

Ianto went back to staring at his jeans.

"Ianto. What I am really here for, is to find out how a teenager like you managed to break into one of the most secure areas in Wales." he said.

Sylvester lent closer.

"So how did you do it? How did you know the passwords? Who told them to you?" he whispered.

Ianto looked up at the man.

"No one told me. I guessed them." he whispered.

Sylvester stared at his face.

"How did you guess them Ianto?" he asked.

Ianto shrugged.

"I don't know. I just typed numbers that sounded right, into the computer and they worked."

Sylvester blinked.

"Sounded right?" he asked. "How did they sound right?"

Ianto shrugged again.

"I noticed that each number made a different noise. David and I saw a worker go in and the buttons he pressed made a tune. I just picked the ones that sounded most like that" he said.

Sylvester grinned at Ianto again.

"Brilliant! That is Brilliant!" he said, sounding excited.

He gave a another laugh and clapped his hands together. Then he looked at Ianto again.

"I work for a group that is always on the lookout for people like you." he said. He pushed the card into Ianto's hand.

"You're a little young yet, but when you're older, we would love to have you on the team." he said.

He stood up and headed for the door. Ianto stood up.

"Wait! What do you mean team? What do you do?" he called after Sylvester

The door swung shut. Sylvester was gone. Ianto slumped back into the chair and looked at the card in his hand. It was plain white with the name '_Sylvester Newman' _printed in the middle. Underneath the name was a phone number. Ianto flipped the card over. Printed on the back, were for capital letters. 'U.N.I.T.' Ianto stared at the letters. The door to the principles office swung open. Ianto slipped the card into his jeans and turned as his mother stormed out of the room. Time to face the music.

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Also, Once again without Beta. Sorry if this is becoming annoying. Anyway, I do have four more situations in which Ianto meets UNIT. And one where Ianto joins UNIT. Anyway, I will try to continue if I ever find the time.


	2. The Second Attempt

Yes, I know this story was pretty much abandoned. For that I am so sorry. It has been ages since I have been able to write anything with work commitments and such, but I was reading over my old work the other day and I started to wonder why I was writing all this stuff and never completing it. Anyway, I have decided to take another stab at this one, since I loved all the ideas I had for it. Plus, I really wanted to have a conflict between Torchwood and UNIT.

Note: Un-Beta'd. All mistakes are my own.

* * *

Well, he had finally done it. All those years of hard work were finally over. 21 year old Ianto Jones had graduated from London University. It should have been a great day for him. The celebration had started at the conclusion of the ceremony this morning and for some of Ianto's fellow students, looked to be continuing well into the night. But for Ianto there was little to celebrate, as the crushing realisation of his situation was made clear. As the other students gathered with their families, Ianto sat alone. Rhiannon and Johnny had arrived to witness the ceremony but thanks to Johnnys job, had been forced to head straight back to Cardiff after a quick congratulations. The day pass from Providence Park had been rejected so his mother had not been able to attend. And the only other member of the family, Aunt Harriet, had failed to show up due to a schedule conflict. David, Iantos childhood friend had been busy interning at the local hospital where he was training as a doctor and although he had many friends on his course, they were all too busy celebrating with their families to include Ianto in their plans.

And he still had to deal with this latest issue. Sitting on the well kept lawn of the campus, Ianto glanced down at the paper again. It was not his diploma, stating his successful completion of his degree. Instead it was an eviction notice. Collage accommodation was hard to come by and the university officials were quick to jump on any rooms which might become available in the not too distant future. Ianto now had three days to pack up and move off campus. And he was in despair.

He had no job, no money to pay for another apartment, and nowhere to go. Sure, David had invited him to move in, an invite which had already been politely withdrawn by Davids girlfriend. He couldn't go to his Aunt Harriet, who was way too busy with her politics to even think of inviting him into her home. And sure, Rhiannon and Johnny had invited him to stay with them, but they had just had a second baby. There was no room in their world for their jobless younger brother.

Ianto sighed and wondered what he could do. A shadow appeared in his vision. Ianto blinked and looked at the source. A man stood in front of him, blocking the light. Behind him, stood a young woman. They both smiled at him.

"Ianto Jones?" the man asked.

Ianto nodded, his gaze moving between the two. The man held out his hand.

"My name is Rupert Howarth" he said, as Ianto shook the offered hand. "This is Lisa Hallett" he nodded to his companion. "We are researchers for the Torchwood Institute."

"A Pleasure" Ianto muttered as he slowly stood up, his mind racing. _Torchwood?_ He had never heard of it. It sounded like some sort of medical charity.

The man grinned at Ianto's face, probably guessing his confusion. The he reached into his pocked and pulled out a notebook.

"Now lets see what we have here." He muttered to himself as he turned a few pages. "Ah, here we go." He looked up.

"Ianto Jones, aged 21. Born 19th August 1983 in Wales. A remarkable student, you were once listed by UNIT as someone to watch after breaking into a power plant when you were 14. Although it has never been official, school results put your IQ as close to 150, making you an honorary member of Mensa. It is already known that you have a photographic memory. And just today you have graduated top of your course with a degree in Theoretical Mathematics. Put frankly, Mr Jones, you are brilliant."

Ianto stared at the man as he tried to process all the new information. Finally, he found his voice.

"Where did you find all that information?"

The man ignored him and continued speaking.

"You are currently looking for a job, something which we are willing to offer you." He held out a card. "We want to start you off as a Junior Researcher. The moneys good and so are the hours. You will automatically receive accommodation. Call this number and it will all be arranged. I suggest you use this weekend to move. You will start on Monday morning. Just be at this address at 8 O'Clock. Mention my name at the desk and we can get started. Any questions?"

Ianto took the card, his voice once again failing him. He stared at it. That was why he didn't notice the two men walking towards the little group.

"Rupert!" The voice called.

Ianto glanced up at the newcomer and started. Although he was unsure about the IQ comment, Howarth had been right about the photographic memory. Ianto remembered like it was yesterday, meeting Sylvester Newman of UNIT. He remembered the man's secretive comments about being watched and growing up. He remembered spending all that night trying to find out about UNIT, only stopping when he realised he would have to hack into the defence network. After all, he was already in trouble with the police following the power plant incident.

Ianto silently watched as Howarth turned to face the newcomers.

"Sylvester." He called. "Here to congratulate me on Torchwoods newest employee?" he asked.

Sylvester glared at him before turning to Ianto.

"Hello Mr Jones. I trust you remember me."

Ianto just nodded. Sylvester smiled but it was bitter.

"I am sorry that it took this long to contact you. My superiors thought it would be a good idea to allow you to finish your schooling before we offered you a job with UNIT. It now looks like we were too late." He glared at Howarth again, who met his gaze with a smug smile.

"Did you bully him into it Rupert?" he asked.

Howarth laughed.

"Of course not Sylvester." He replied. "I just covered all the basics. After all, there is nothing like job security for young people these days."

Sylvester growled.

"I'm sure you did." He muttered.

Then he turned back to Ianto and held out another card.

"If you change your mind about Torchwood, UNIT would be happy to have you. Just give me a call whenever you feel like it."

Then he turned, nodded to his companion, and left.

Ianto finally found his voice.

"Wait!" he called.

The retreating figures didn't hear him and were soon out of sight. Ianto turned to the remaining two.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

Howarth smiled.

"It's a big world out there kid. And now that you are ready, you are going to be a part of it. Don't forget, 8 O'Clock Monday." He turned and walked off, leaving Ianto speechless once more.

A hand touched his shoulder. The woman, Lisa, smiled at him. Ianto couldn't help but return the smile.

"I know it may seem a lot at the moment, but trust me. There are so many wonders in this world that most people will never see. If you have the courage to walk through that door and enter Torchwood, all that will be yours."

She smiled again and took a step back.

"See you Monday." She said. Then she turned and walked away.

Ianto watched her leave before looking down at the two cards. The one Sylvester had given him was the same one he had received when he was 14. The other was a plain card. On one side was Howarth's name and a phone number. Ianto flipped the card and glanced at the other side.

TORCHWOOD – Canary Wharf

Bitting his lip, Ianto thought about his options as they now were. He had no idea what Torchwood or UNIT really did but somehow, finding out sounded really exciting. It was clear UNIT had been watching him for a while, but Torchwood was offering him security. Plus, if he went with Torchwood, there was a chance he could get to know Lisa better. Ianto smiled slightly at that.

Slipping the cards into his pocket, Ianto starched his back before stepping off the grass and onto the footpath. Making his way back to his room, he couldn't help but smile. His future suddenly looked a lot brighter.

* * *

Ok, just for anyone interested. Aunt Harriet is Harriet Jones, Prime Minister. I liked her too much to not mention her. I used the rumours of Ianto knowing someone at Providence Park to make the whole thing about his mum. Howarth is an actual character. He was Ianto's mentor at Torchwood One. And I know in 'Fragments' Jack listed Iantos school results as not being great. I will try to explain that in the next chapter. Ok, I think I covered everything.


End file.
